Important Information About The Uses Of User Acceptance Testing

User acceptance testing is often the final step before rolling out the application. Usually the end users who will be using the applications test the application before 'accepting' the application. This type of testing gives the end users the confidence that the application being delivered to them meets their requirements. This testing also helps nail bugs related to usability of the application. To ensure an effective User Acceptance Testing Test cases are created. These Test cases can be created using various use cases identified during the Requirements definition stage. The Test cases ensure proper coverage of all the scenarios during testing.

During this type of testing the specific focus is the exact real world usage of the application. The Testing is done in an environment that simulates the production environment. The Test cases are written using real world scenarios for the application. The user acceptance testing is usually a black box type of testing. In other words, the focus is on the functionality and the usability of the application rather than the technical aspects. It is generally assumed that the application would have already undergone unit, integration and system level testing. However, it is useful if the user acceptance testing is carried out in an environment that closely resembles the real world or production environment.

The steps taken for user acceptance testing typically involve one or more of the following:

1) User Acceptance Test (UAT) Planning

2) Designing UA Test Cases

3) Selecting a Team that would execute the (UAT) Test Cases

4) Executing Test Cases

5) Documenting the Defects found during UAT

6) Resolving the issues/Bug Fixing

7) Sign Off

UAT (User Acceptance Testing) is often the final stage of the implementation process which is conducted to ensure that system requirements meet business needs. The UAT process allows for any issues to be fixed before the system goes live. Acceptance Testing often can be in the form of Alpha or Beta Testing, where the software is tested by the intended audience in the "real environment". Why is the UAT is important? Despite resource deficits, they need to be managed to conduct proper tests when it comes to this phase. Even though this can be expensive, it is not close to possible cost damages that can be caused by bad requirements understanding. In the "ideal world", acceptance testing would be performed by system users and they should decide if the deliverable is what they are intending to pay for.

During the Implementation process, the system is going through many types of testing by programmers, analysts and designers. So why focus on UAT? All other forms of testing are carried out by the engineering team to ensure that the system works technically, according to their understanding of the business requirements. UAT should be carried out by the users or business consultants to determine whether the software fits their use or not. Most engineering teams are often forced to perform ad-hoc testing based on the developed feature instead to plan the test effort per feature upfront. UAT can give a clear picture of what should be expected as the outcome.